Saturday, June 11, 2016

"The government and corporations find our
message – that we could redirect the taxes that currently are used on
the military to fund things like education and healthcare – a threat to
their profits and power. They also worry that our sharing of food with
the hungry shows that we can end hunger. They fear that the sharing of
food and literature with the message Food Not Bombs in high-visibility
locations is an effective way to inspire public pressure for change to
our political and economic system. In 2009, two U.S. State Department
officials gave a lecture at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy in Medford,
Massachusetts comparing the group that shares vegan meals in parks and
al-Qaeda; they said the people sharing the food were a greater threat
than al-Qaeda because people visiting their meals would be influenced to
support policies diverting tax dollars from military spending towards
education, healthcare and other social services...
"Americans
discard over 40 percent of the food that is produced. 1,400 calories
worth of food is discarded per person each day, which adds up to 150
trillion calories per year. The United Nations reported in 2010 that all
one billion people that go hungry could be fed by the food that is
wasted every day...
"ood Not Bombs has worked against racism since the beginning. The first
collective provided food to the people protected by the Black Liberation
Army at Columbia Point Housing Projects in Boston at a time when people
of color were under attack by white gangs in South Boston. The first
group also organized a multi-racial free concert in Cambridge and
provided food to the Mohawk nation in New York. Food Not Bombs has many
volunteers from all backgrounds, races and cultures. Most volunteers in
Africa are black and volunteers in Asia are Asian, and so on. Food Not
Bombs volunteers have even been killed while sharing food because of
their work against racism. On November 13, 2005, Timur
Kacharava was stabbed to death by racists as he was packing up the
weekly meal in St. Petersburg because Food Not Bombs provides food at
anti-racists actions. Several other Food Not Bombs volunteers have been
murdered by racists in Russia since Timur was killed. Food Not Bombs
also organizes a People of Color Caucus at our gatherings and seeks to
include all in the work of ending racism...
"over 17
percent of the people went hungry every month in 2010 and the United
Nations is warning of a huge increase in hunger in 2012. U.S. Census
data show that nearly half of all Americans struggle to survive. The
United States is not alone. The global economy is in crisis. Hunger and
poverty are increasing in every area of the world. When over a billion
people go hungry every day, how can we spend another dollar on war? Why
do we spend fifty cents of every federal tax dollar on the military when
millions go hungry and are forced out of their homes here in the United
States"